13 replies to this topic

[Dreamgirl08]

Ladies,

How do you go about arranging flights for guests and for yourselves, when there is no TA available. I'm getting married at El Dorado Royale on July 2008, and just made reservations for suites and transfers ONLY through
Lomas Travel. Lomas tells me they don't do airfare, and my what used to be Travel Agent, doesn't do airfare unless she also does hotel and transfers.
FI' says not to worry, cause most guests would actually rather book their own flights online anyway. If I go with this plan, how is everyone assured of arriving on the same day and around the same time. I'm so clueless to when it comes to flight arrangments. I've heard of brides telling their guests to do both on their own. I don't see how guests would react to this though.
I don't know what to do . Please help

[Betsy]

Hi! Just wanted to let you know - we booked our flights through travelocity.com - they gave us better rates than our TA so we have just been telling everyone that we are inviting they should go through travelocity.com. So far it has been working very well - we booked our flight first and then just told everyone the flight #, date, time etc. Hope this helps!
Good Luck!

[Dreamgirl08]

Thanks so much Betsy!

When you book with travelocity, do you print your tickets or do they come in the mail? Also, are there other websites such as travelocity that you think are worth trying? Thanks again.

[Alyssa]

i am about to start going through the same thing - we did a buyout of our location and it was not commissionable so we don't have a TA - i did speak to a couple of TA's and they said the same thing - no airfare without hotel - it is not really profitable and pretty much a headache. i am a little wary of the internet booking sites b/c they change schedules so frequently and sell discount tickets. you really have no one to go back to with problems. i am stressing about it.

i am going to contact the airlines directly and get a discount code - that is the best advice i can give you...

[IrieBride08]

I think that's a great idea. Contact the airline directly and speak to the group sales department. If the majority of your guests are departing from the same cities, you can negotiate a group rate that way.

That's what I did (with Air Jamaica). I chose the two cities with the highest traffic for my guests and negotiated a group rate. This held a certain number of seats (I think it has to be at least 10) and reserves them at a discounted rate.

If you have guests who are arriving and departing on different days, it may be best to let them negotiate their own flight arrangements. Good luck!

[cheese_diva]

We made arrangements for some of our family members (only because we paid and they paid us back) but I'm telling you, it's alot of extra stress that you may be ready to take on now, but if there are problems or changes, everyone is going to come to you for answers! I found it tough enough just to keep track of everyone's travels so we knew when they were arriving. We also coordinated the transfers for the guests arriving at the same time, but that's about it.

It would be great to check into discount codes, but beyond that, your guests should be able to book on their own. Even when you book direct, flights change or get cancelled. Our guests used a mixture of online services and Travel Agent.. no complaints from either.

[Jenn]

We've done everything on our own. If you have a large enough group coming from 1 city, then negotiating with the airlines is a great way to go. For us, that didn't work, so we've just had everyone make their own travel arrangements. We told people that we would be arranging transfers to and from the hotel on specific days and times. If their travel arrangements were different, then the hotel would arrange transport at a nominal fee. So far, lmost everyone's flights coincide with what we requested... A few people are coming early, which was their choice and some are staying longer.

Your friends and family should be able to find their own airfare if necessary. Sites like Cheaptickets, Expedia, Travelocity, and Hotwire are great for researching flights and sometimes even getting a deal. That being said, if you want everyone on 1 specific flight, I would try to work out a deal with the airline.

[Dreamgirl08]

Which airline should I get in contact with? I was thinking asking guests to reserve suites & transfers with Lomas, and then having them book their flights through travelocity. But just today, I had a friend tell me, "What if I find a cheaper package through Travelocity". Meaning; Room, Transfers, and flight. What should I do?

[Betsy]

Hi! When we booked our flights on travelocity.com we just printed our tickets off here at home. Then when we go to the airport we just have to check our bags and thats it. My sister actually DID book the flight and the hotel through travelocity. Seriously it can get really really stressful trying to decide what will make everyone else happy for travel arrangements - I've been there!! But in the end we just gave everyone our TA's name/website and then told them we booked on travelocity and they could do either thing - so far so good!! GOOD LUCK!

[Dreamgirl08]

I'm actually in the process of making my suite and transfer reservations with Lomas, only because Fernanda has been sooo helpful and very responsive to all of my questions. So I trust her. But I plan getting my airfare online too. I guess I'll do my stuff with her and let others decide for what they want as well.

Thanks for the tip